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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
simplified introductory overview - 3 stars plus,
By thecastlebookroom "thecastlebookroom" (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: How to Choose a Bible Version: An Introductory Guide to English Translations (Paperback)
Robert L. Thomas has put together a bit of information on the modern translations of the Bible in popular use today (& some which are not popularly used), as well as the history of the English Bible, to present a readable, if not overly sophisticated, introduction to translations and the textual criticism underlying them .The historical information is on a grade-school level, but the background information on the King James translation committee is a welcome entry to a large void of common misunderstanding and ignorance of the origins of this revered version, and a real plus to the value of the book. The author leans toward a literal translation, and rightly so, in this reviewer's opinion. A helpful chart lists several translations in use today and their degree of literalness or looseness in conforming to the original language texts. Unfortunately, the section on theological bias gives little clarification of it's legitimate role in translating, and promotes that idea that one should shop around for a translation to buttress one's own theological bent. Translations that veer from the author's own pet theological bias are clearly denigrated for doing so, even if their renderings are philologically accurate. In line with the title, the author throughout promotes the notion that everyone should pick the ONE Bible translation that will be the basis of their faith. Oddly, it is not suggested that a Christian might regularly use and study several different translations, and no encouragement is given toward the use of an interlinear translation with a lexicon. Still, for readability, for the information on the King James translation committee, for the useful chart on literalness vs looseness (I find myself consulting it frequently, as I build my collection of different translations), and for valuing literalness in a translation, I rate this book a 3-plus, and recommend it as a starting point for someone desiring to embark on the road to the study of the modern Bible translation, and the history of its textual transmission.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Concise, scholarly. Allows one to make his/her own decision,
By A Customer
This review is from: How to Choose a Bible Version: An Introductory Guide to English Translations (Paperback)
Robert Thomas strikes me as a true scholar.There is no sarcasm or condescending tone, just his honest yet learned opinion of the subject.(He favours the Alexandrian Text as opposed to the Textus Receptus, but readers usually have their minds made up on this beforehand anyway, and Thomas' opinion will not sway them one way or the other).Note this is not a large book,only about 200 pages. I couldn't believe there were no reviews of this book ,as it is well worth buying. I really like his summary reviews of many translations individualy. I also recommend "Differences Between Bible Translations" by Gary, Zeolla, as well as "One Bible Only?" by Beacham and Bauder.
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